Whether you take part in our Cardiff, Nottingham, Manchester, Edinburgh or London races, you need the power and body control to hoist yourself up the monolithic Wall and across the demanding Big Rig. Learning to do the human flag will give you the strength you need to succeed.

Given the nature of Survival is moving your body across lots of tough obstacles, strength-building bodyweight exercises are the perfect way to prepare. As bodyweight coach James Greenwood and James Cracknell, OBE, demonstrate, the flag is a fantastic total-body trick.

Here's Greenwood's guide to training your way up to a horizontal hold. Time to raise the bar.

Wide-grip pull-ups tips

- Grab the bar with your palms facing away from you and your arms fully extended. Your hands should be as wide as you can comfortably get them.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together, exhale and drive your elbows towards your hips to bring your chin above the bar. Lower under control back to the start position.
- Lift over one second, lower over three seconds. Don’t pause at either the top or bottom of the movement.

Obliques tips

- Lie on your left side with your knees straight and prop your upper body up to take its weight on your forearm. Brace your core and raise your hips until your body forms a straight line.
- Hold this position while breathing deeply. Then roll over and repeat on the other side.

Leg raises tips

- Use your hands to grip the bench and steady yourself. Place your hands either under your glutes with your palms down or by your sides holding the bench.
- Keeping your legs straight as possible, exhale and raise them until they make a 90-degree angle with the floor. Slowly lower to the starting position.

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